Journal Description
Religions
Religions
is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open access journal on religions and theology, published monthly online by MDPI.
- Open Access— free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions.
- High Visibility: indexed within Scopus, AHCI (Web of Science), ATLA Religion Database, Religious and Theological Abstracts, and other databases.
- Journal Rank: CiteScore - Q1 (Religious Studies)
- Rapid Publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision is provided to authors approximately 22.8 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 4.6 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the second half of 2023).
- Recognition of Reviewers: reviewers who provide timely, thorough peer-review reports receive vouchers entitling them to a discount on the APC of their next publication in any MDPI journal, in appreciation of the work done.
Impact Factor:
0.8 (2022)
Latest Articles
Thomas Aquinas and the Qualification of Monastic Labor
Religions 2024, 15(3), 366; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030366 - 19 Mar 2024
Abstract
Early monastic communities in Egypt were veritable laboratories for the practice of Christian virtue; perhaps surprisingly, they were also large-scale coordinated communities of labor. That manual labor should have been part of anchoritic life is not obvious; given that hermits were leaving the
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Early monastic communities in Egypt were veritable laboratories for the practice of Christian virtue; perhaps surprisingly, they were also large-scale coordinated communities of labor. That manual labor should have been part of anchoritic life is not obvious; given that hermits were leaving the cities and the usual occupations of life in the world, there might be a question as to why they would seemingly return to such occupations having sought the purity of living alone in the desert. Combining Platonic thought with radical Christianity, the monks found a way to make the maximally spiritual life also a worker’s life. The architects of this form of life saw manual labor as a means for achieving self-sustenance, an effective weapon against temptation, a resource for the support of the needy, and a vital component in the monks’ ascetic program. The argument of this paper is that this powerful cultural consensus on the centrality of work to monastic life endured for almost a thousand years before it came to be qualified, by Thomas Aquinas among others. When Thomas Aquinas writes on the purposes of manual labor he is entirely traditional. However, Aquinas ends up diminishing the extent to which the pursuit of the traditional goods gained by the practice of manual labor is obligatory for monastics. Aquinas’s discussion of manual labor as an element of monastic life is a definite departure from the tradition. In the typically polite fashion of a scholastic theologian, Aquinas shifts away from Augustine and re-interprets St. Paul in unprecedented fashion. His argument is influenced by his own commitment to a new form of monastic life, which was changing not just theologically but as a result of the evolving backdrop of the social and economic realities with which religious life necessarily interacted.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medieval Philosophy and Religious Thought)
Open AccessArticle
Mobilising a Decolonial–Islamic Praxis: Covenants in Islam and Muslim–Indigenous Relations
by
Halim Rane, Debbie Bargallie and Troy Meston
Religions 2024, 15(3), 365; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030365 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
Islam was an important factor in the decolonisation of Muslim countries from European colonial rule during the 19th and 20th centuries. However, Muslims are among the migrant-settler populations of Australia, Canada, the United States, and other British colonial states that continue to dispossess
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Islam was an important factor in the decolonisation of Muslim countries from European colonial rule during the 19th and 20th centuries. However, Muslims are among the migrant-settler populations of Australia, Canada, the United States, and other British colonial states that continue to dispossess and disenfranchise Indigenous populations. This article contributes to the debate on “decolonising Islam”. It contends that covenants with God and between people in Islam’s pre-eminent sources, the Qur’an and sunnah, are antithetical to colonialism and reinforce a praxis-orientated decolonial–Islamic agenda. This article focuses on three aspects of decolonisation, addressing: (1) supremacist ideology; (2) human existence and coexistence; and (3) claims of entitlement. Using Australia as the primary case study, it examines Islamic obligations towards Indigenous peoples in settler-colonial states, emphasising the potential of covenants to promote mutual recognition and dialogue towards redressing injustices and building respectful coexistence.
Full article
Open AccessArticle
Forming Preachers: An Examination of Four Homiletical Pedagogy Paradigms
by
E. Trey Clark
Religions 2024, 15(3), 364; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030364 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
Teaching preaching effectively in the twenty-first century requires instructors to engage a multiplicity of pedagogical approaches. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of homiletical literature that surveys diverse pedagogical paradigms and practices directly related to preaching. This article takes a step toward filling this
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Teaching preaching effectively in the twenty-first century requires instructors to engage a multiplicity of pedagogical approaches. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of homiletical literature that surveys diverse pedagogical paradigms and practices directly related to preaching. This article takes a step toward filling this void. Specifically, the author argues that embracing varied preaching pedagogical paradigms and practices is essential to foster a more holistic, contextually sensitive, and liberative approach to the formation of preachers. The first part of the article examines three major contemporary homiletical pedagogical approaches that attend to the formation of preachers in interrelated yet distinct ways: teacher-centered, learner-centered, and learning-centered preaching pedagogy. In the second section, building on place-based educational theory, a new paradigm is explored that the author calls place-centered preaching pedagogy. To explicate this paradigm, the article briefly considers four homileticians who, in different ways, reflect aspects of this pedagogy in their teaching: HyeRan Kim-Cragg, Frank A. Thomas, Richard W. Voelz, and Leah D. Schade. The third section offers an assessment of place-centered preaching pedagogy by examining its strengths, weaknesses, and areas for future research. The article ends with a conclusion that revisits the primary aims of the essay and calls for further exploration of the subject.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Homiletical Theory and Praxis)
Open AccessArticle
Tradition and Transformation: Spirituality in Church-Related Caring Communities in a Pluralistic Society
by
Annette Daniela Haussmann, Olivia Lea Odrasil, Stefanie Wiloth, Esther Hinz, Patricia Kerl, Jonathan Mylius and Kathrin Ackermann
Religions 2024, 15(3), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030363 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
Demographic change in aging societies makes it urgent to ask how care can be understood as a social task. This is where the concept of caring communities comes in, which understands care as a task of many, indeed, of society as a whole,
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Demographic change in aging societies makes it urgent to ask how care can be understood as a social task. This is where the concept of caring communities comes in, which understands care as a task of many, indeed, of society as a whole, and aims to offer mutual care in communities. While the concept has been described in theory many times, empirical studies are rare. In pluralistic Western societies, the church as an institution is becoming less important while spirituality and spiritual needs are increasing in prominence. These processes of secularization run parallel to a growing interest in spirituality and an individualization of religion. Nonetheless, church congregations have always offered a place of mutual care and lived religion that functions as a network and social resource. So far, the role of spirituality in church-related caring communities has not been sufficiently addressed. In an exploratory qualitative study of three church-related caring communities in Germany, we focus on the target group of caring relatives, of whom we interviewed nine. The results show that church-related caring communities provide important spiritual resources and rely on the basis of shared values that are closely connected to Christian convictions. However, the different understandings of care and spirituality point to the relevance of discussing the often preliminary motives and values of care. Especially in plural societies, the discourse on plural values for mutual care is important and can form a basis for caring practices such as spiritual and pastoral care. Opportunities and places to discuss and debate different and shared values underlining care practices are necessary. The potential of spiritual and pastoral care in church-related caring communities is important and needs to be further strengthened.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pastoral and Spiritual Care in Pluralistic Societies)
Open AccessArticle
Redefinition and Interpretation of “Religiosity” Based on the Reflection of Buddha Nature
by
Mingli Chen
Religions 2024, 15(3), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030362 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
Nowadays, scholars expect to measure religiosity in different ways, but these measurements run counter to the purpose for which “religiosity” was originally coined, which was to be highlighted and differentiated from “religion” under the “the crisis of modernity of religion”; so, this important
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Nowadays, scholars expect to measure religiosity in different ways, but these measurements run counter to the purpose for which “religiosity” was originally coined, which was to be highlighted and differentiated from “religion” under the “the crisis of modernity of religion”; so, this important concept should be redefined. However, the redefinition and analysis of religiosity needs to include the contribution of religious studies, thus correcting the bias of sociology of religion towards sociology, as well as the reflection on pluralism of religions. Among them, thinking about Buddha nature can provide a valuable reference for the redefining of “religiosity”. First of all, the discussion of Buddha nature can provide a philosophical and value-level supplement to the understanding of “religiosity”, making the originally flattened empirical interpretation three-dimensional; secondly, the reflection on Buddha nature influenced by Chinese culture can provide oriental wisdom for the definition of religiosity. For example, Chineseized Buddhist thought incorporates the traditional Chinese understanding of human nature. On the basis of the discussion of Buddha nature, it can be seen that “religiosity” has different emphases in different religions, but there are still areas of consistency under these different understandings and expressions. Thus, the redefinition of “religiosity” should both reflect these consistencies and address the reasons for the inconsistencies through a hierarchical division. Since the redefinition of “religiosity” is not only conducive to inter-religious dialogue, but also relates to the answer to a series of important questions, such as the prediction of the future of religions, its meaning needs to be updated in accordance with the changes in the times.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Otherness-Reception and Self-Rediscovery in the Dialogue and Comparative Study of Christianity and Buddhism)
Open AccessArticle
A Case Study Method for Integrating Spirituality and Narrative Practice
by
Suzanne M. Coyle
Religions 2024, 15(3), 361; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030361 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
Theological/spiritual reflection in psychotherapeutic practice has increased in recent years. Approaches for reflection and integration vary depending on the practitioner’s spiritual and theoretical beliefs. The integrative approach utilized in this paper is derived from a phenomenological perspective of the author, who was schooled
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Theological/spiritual reflection in psychotherapeutic practice has increased in recent years. Approaches for reflection and integration vary depending on the practitioner’s spiritual and theoretical beliefs. The integrative approach utilized in this paper is derived from a phenomenological perspective of the author, who was schooled in pastoral theology and later family therapy. Considering the pastoral theologian Seward Hiltner’s perspectival approach, this integrative approach creates a conversational method, integrating the client’s concerns with specific narrative therapy interventions or practices and the theological/spiritual concepts of immanence–transcendence. Finally, this case study’s methodology offers constructive questions that clinical practitioners can apply to specific psychotherapy approaches as well as theological concepts.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Incorporating the Sacred in Counselling)
Open AccessArticle
The Meeting: Ideas for an Architecture of Interreligious Civic Collaboration
by
Steven G. Smith
Religions 2024, 15(3), 360; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030360 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
Interreligious engagement (IE) has been experienced and theorized mainly as the pursuit of a shared respectful awareness of the beliefs, practices, and social experiences of multiple religious communities. In rare instances, it has been possible to create architecture specifically to foster IE, as
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Interreligious engagement (IE) has been experienced and theorized mainly as the pursuit of a shared respectful awareness of the beliefs, practices, and social experiences of multiple religious communities. In rare instances, it has been possible to create architecture specifically to foster IE, as in the “tri-faith” Abrahamic campus in Omaha and the Berlin House of One. The theme is: Here we are, accepting that we share the world. Another form of IE that deserves to attract more interest is multireligious collaboration in civic work (addressing homelessness, urban blight, illiteracy, etc.). Some adherents of the intrinsically cosmopolitan “world” religions are actively cosmopolitan to the extent of seeking this engagement. The theme is: Let us share the work of the world, including sharing our religiously inflected processing of what the practical issues facing us are. There is a new initiative of this sort in my city, Jackson, Mississippi, named (from M. L. King) the “Beloved Community”. An architectural thought experiment may prove helpful in articulating the ideals for such an endeavor. What would be the physical desiderata for its headquarters? Let us imagine a new downtown building, The Meeting, dedicated to housing meetings where mixed religious groups learn about civic issues and coordinate efforts to address them. Full interreligious sharing of a space seems to require a neutral design lacking any definite religious inspiration. But there are nonsectarian ways to create an appreciably special, non-ordinary space, as in courtrooms and classrooms. Could a civic IE headquarters be special, expressive of practical optimism, and contain a sufficient religious allusion to qualify as a “next-to-sacred space” in which religious actors felt supported in the civic extension of their religious lives? I offer suggestions for discussion, including (1) a pavilion-style building suggestive of being set up for a special purpose—not soaringly grandiose but with a vertical feature such as a central roof lantern; (2) at least one major porch, with benches and tables; (3) an outside water fountain with public water supply (a historical allusion to the Islamic sabil); (4) inside, right-sized meeting rooms around the glass-walled periphery; (5) a big “living room” lounge in the center, usable for larger meetings, with access to a kitchen, and with a big project board for tracking work completed and work in hand next to a large map of the city; (6) a moderate descent of several steps into each meeting room so that there is a feeling of commitment in attending a meeting and a sense of challenge in going forth from one; (7) otherwise a main floor levelness and openness facilitating movement in and out, as in a train station; and (8) upstairs small offices for religious and other qualifying organizations. Answering the aesthetic and practical questions these suggestions raise takes us into imagining civic IE more concretely.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inter-Religious Encounters in Architecture and Other Public Art)
Open AccessArticle
Yoga and the ‘Pure Muhammadi Path’ of Muhammad Nasir ʿAndalib
by
Soraya Khodamoradi and Carl Ernst
Religions 2024, 15(3), 359; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030359 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
This article addresses the question of how early modern Sufis dealt with yoga. Some scholars have argued that a movement of Sufi reform occurred in South Asia during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, representing a shift towards legal Islam, which would call for
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This article addresses the question of how early modern Sufis dealt with yoga. Some scholars have argued that a movement of Sufi reform occurred in South Asia during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, representing a shift towards legal Islam, which would call for the rejection of non-Islamic practices. This explanation overlooks the rhetorical construction of Sufi claims of spiritual status and shariʿa legitimacy, and it fails to distinguish eighteenth-century examples from the very different reform movements created in the nineteenth century in response to European colonialism. This article considers as a case study Nala-yi ʿAndalib (“The Nightingale’s Lament”), the central text produced by the pre-colonial founder of the “pure Muhammadi path,” Muhammad Nasir ʿAndalib (d. 1758), with the help of intertextual references to the masterpiece of his son, Khwaja Mir Dard (d. 1785), ʿIlm al-kitab (“Knowledge of the Book”). The consequence of their evaluation of yoga was not the systematic rejection of non-Islamic practices, but a guarded acknowledgement of their efficacy within a framework that used Indic references as a straw man for intra-Islamic debates.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sufism in the Modern World)
Open AccessArticle
Good News for the Oppressed? Exploring the Spiritual, Political, and Intercultural Dimensions of Howard Thurman’s Philosophy
by
Aizaiah G. Yong
Religions 2024, 15(3), 358; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030358 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
This paper centers on the godfather of the civil rights movement, Howard Thurman, and his most influential work, “Jesus and the Disinherited”, as a pre-eminent text into early 20th century intercultural philosophy. Building upon Kipton Jensen’s analysis in “Howard Thurman:
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This paper centers on the godfather of the civil rights movement, Howard Thurman, and his most influential work, “Jesus and the Disinherited”, as a pre-eminent text into early 20th century intercultural philosophy. Building upon Kipton Jensen’s analysis in “Howard Thurman: Philosophy, Civil Rights, and the Search for Common Ground”, this presentation will reframe Howard Thurman’s unique philosophy as one that integrates spirituality, interculturality, and critical social analysis. It is well known that Thurman’s treatise on the oppressed was carried in the pocket of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. throughout the civil rights movement for the ways it empowered nonviolent resistance for those marginalized by the dominant culture of the United States, which was (and still is) built on racism, military violence, and class-based oppression. This paper advocates that Thurman came to his philosophical conclusions through deep engagement with various cultural and philosophical traditions, most notably the Hindu spiritual–political paradigm of Mahatma Gandhi, and sought to harmonize these insights for African Americans in the USA. By investigating the intercultural foundations of “Jesus and the Disinherited”, this paper will encourage scholars to explore how interculturality enriched Thurman’s philosophy and how this fostered a more expansive vision of community in pluralistic societies. This article traces the roots of the development of “Jesus and the Disinherited”, looking back to presentations Thurman gave as early as 1922, concluding with the publication of his book in 1949. And via this study, we will see the progression of Thurman’s ideas and the impacts interculturality had on his philosophy and vision for social justice.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mysticism and Social Justice)
Open AccessArticle
Earth-Bound Preaching: Engaging Scripture, Context, and Indigenous Wisdom
by
HyeRan Kim-Cragg
Religions 2024, 15(3), 357; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030357 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
In developing an Earth-bound homiletics, three homiletical movements are suggested: engaging Scripture, engaging global and local situatedness, and engaging the Indigenous worldview of “all my relations” by tapping into Indigenous knowledge. These three movements need not take place in any chronological order, nor
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In developing an Earth-bound homiletics, three homiletical movements are suggested: engaging Scripture, engaging global and local situatedness, and engaging the Indigenous worldview of “all my relations” by tapping into Indigenous knowledge. These three movements need not take place in any chronological order, nor should they be seen as a hierarchy. Rather, they are complementary and interconnected. The author, before articulating these movements, offers reasons for why the topic of the climate crisis is not preached on and then addresses the challenge of selecting biblical texts, delineating the strengths and weaknesses of using the lectionary readings versus a preacher’s individual choices. The article further addresses the danger of biblical literalists who deny global warming. Each homiletical movement will be elaborated using actual sermons as concrete examples of Earth-bound homiletics.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Homiletical Theory and Praxis)
Open AccessArticle
Teaching and Learning Principles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: A Thematic Analysis of the Doctrine and Covenants
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Isaac Calvert, Sabrina Bengtzen and Jessica Ashcraft
Religions 2024, 15(3), 356; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030356 - 18 Mar 2024
Abstract
This article presents pedagogic principles prescribed in the text of the Doctrine and Covenants, a foundational book of scripture from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Following a qualitative, thematic analysis of the text, we organized the data into seven
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This article presents pedagogic principles prescribed in the text of the Doctrine and Covenants, a foundational book of scripture from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Following a qualitative, thematic analysis of the text, we organized the data into seven themes: character of God as a teacher, learning as the pursuit of truth, attributes of a teacher and learner, warnings in seeking light and truth, learning methods, teaching methods, and non-compulsory teaching and learning. Most noteworthy among these themes is the text’s description of learning as the pursuit of embodied ontological truth and the fundamental questions it raises about the nature of compulsion in learning.
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Open AccessArticle
Goethe’s Platonic Natural Philosophy: How Goethean Science Provides an Alternative Conception of the Cosmos
by
Seth P. Hart
Religions 2024, 15(3), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030355 - 17 Mar 2024
Abstract
While popularly known for his works of literature and poetry, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe viewed his lesser-known scientific pieces as his most enduring achievement. I will argue that Goethe’s unique scientific methodology is informed by a metaphysical commitment to a form of Platonism
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While popularly known for his works of literature and poetry, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe viewed his lesser-known scientific pieces as his most enduring achievement. I will argue that Goethe’s unique scientific methodology is informed by a metaphysical commitment to a form of Platonism and that Goethe provides an intriguing alternative paradigm that unifies science, philosophy, theology, and ethics. I begin by demonstrating how Goethe’s concept of the Urphänomen offers a Platonic conception of natural beings. I then briefly outline how this alternative scientific approach ultimately derives from his Platonic commitments. Next, I demonstrate the ethical and spiritual implications of Goethean science, establishing that Goethe’s approach bridges the divide between our scientific endeavors and spiritual formation. There is, then, a continued relevance for Goethe in conversations regarding ecological ethics and our perception of nature.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Platonic Tradition, Nature Spirituality and the Environment)
Open AccessArticle
Cultural and Theological Influences on Religious Engagement with Digital Media during COVID-19: A Comparative Study of Churches in Poland and Ireland
by
Marta Kołodziejska, Sławomir Mandes and Katarzyna Rabiej-Sienicka
Religions 2024, 15(3), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030354 - 15 Mar 2024
Abstract
This article investigates how cultural context and theological ideas shape the integration of digital media in religious practices. Focusing on Poland and Northern Ireland/The Republic of Ireland, we explore the diverse strategies employed by religious institutions in utilizing digital media. The study centers
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This article investigates how cultural context and theological ideas shape the integration of digital media in religious practices. Focusing on Poland and Northern Ireland/The Republic of Ireland, we explore the diverse strategies employed by religious institutions in utilizing digital media. The study centers on the Catholic Church, analyzing its responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in different cultural contexts. Examining various denominations specific to each country, we highlight the role of theological assumptions in shaping the use of digital platforms within religious contexts. This comparative analysis provides insight into the complex interplay between culture, theology, and technology, contributing to the understanding of how religious institutions adapt to societal changes and navigate the digital landscape. Our findings reflect the theological controversies of shifting religious practices and services to digital media, and point to the non-voluntary aspect of adjusting to the pressures of deep mediatization in both cultural contexts.
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Open AccessArticle
The Native Clergy in Portuguese America: The Presence of Descendants of Indians and Africans in the Secular Clergy (c. 1670–c. 1820)
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Anderson José Machado De Oliveira
Religions 2024, 15(3), 353; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030353 - 14 Mar 2024
Abstract
This article conducts an analytical overview of the controversies and acts that resulted in the formation of a native clergy in Portuguese America. The analysis is limited to the secular clergy and the ways by which descendants of Africans and Indians were incorporated
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This article conducts an analytical overview of the controversies and acts that resulted in the formation of a native clergy in Portuguese America. The analysis is limited to the secular clergy and the ways by which descendants of Africans and Indians were incorporated into this segment of the Church. The author addresses the way parts of these groups developed strategies to access the priesthood, seeking to escape subaltern positions and consolidating processes of social mobility.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious History in Portugal)
Open AccessArticle
(Re-)invented Chan Lineage, Unique Vietnamese Meditation School, or Both? Thích Thanh Từ’s “Revived” Trúc Lâm Tradition of Thiền Tông
by
Trang T. D. Nguyen
Religions 2024, 15(3), 352; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030352 - 14 Mar 2024
Abstract
This study explores how images of the past have been deployed to set up current arrangements of leadership and institutional identity by considering the career and teachings of Thích Thanh Từ in connection with his “revived” Buddhist tradition in Vietnam. Promoted as a
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This study explores how images of the past have been deployed to set up current arrangements of leadership and institutional identity by considering the career and teachings of Thích Thanh Từ in connection with his “revived” Buddhist tradition in Vietnam. Promoted as a continuation of the unique and pure Vietnamese Buddhist meditation tradition and associated with the Vietnamese national identity, the contemporary Trúc Lâm (Bamboo Grove) is a pride of many Vietnamese Buddhists. The original Trúc Lâm is claimed to be founded by the heroic King-turned-monk Trần Nhân Tông in the thirteenth century. The tradition was supposedly transmitted through the next two generations and died out. In the twentieth century, a Southern Vietnamese monk, Thích Thanh Từ (1924–), who had quit Pure Land (Tịnh Độ, C. Jingtu淨土) Buddhism to self-learn and practice meditation, decided to reinvent the medieval Trúc Lâm tradition and became the founder of the contemporary Trúc Lâm. Despite growing up during French colonization and American war, Thanh Từ was not politically involved; instead, he focused on setting up new monasteries, taught meditation, and discouraged his followers from political and social engagement. This paper examines how successful Thích Thanh Từ and his disciples are in popularizing Trúc Lâm in Vietnam, given that the majority of Vietnamese Buddhists follow Pure Land devotional practices. More importantly, it describes how Thích Thanh Từ combines the teachings attributed to Trần Nhân Tông and two Chinese Chan masters, Huike慧可 (the Second Patriarch) and Huineng惠能 (the Sixth Patriarch), to form Trúc Lâm’s philosophical views and meditation techniques. With the clear-cut distinction between the delusional mind of sentient beings and the perfect mind of enlightened beings, Thích Thanh Từ presents the goal of Trúc Lâm practice as attaining the state of no-thought and sharpening it to perfection to perceive the “buddha nature” (phật tính, S. buddhadhātu, C. foxing 佛性) understood as the pure mind of nonduality and nonform. Outlining that process, he emphasizes the importance of “sudden awakening” (đốn ngộ, C. dunwu 頓悟) followed by “gradual cultivation” (tiệm tu, C. jianxiu 漸修). His meditation manual for ordinary practitioners with no experience of sudden awakening contains key techniques of (1) stabilizing the mind by counting and then observing breaths, (2) recognizing the “true mind” (chân tâm, C. zhenxin真心) through practicing “no abiding in thoughts” (biết vọng không theo), “no mind for the externals” (đối cảnh vô tâm), “no dualistic discrimination” (không kẹt hai bên), and then proceeding to the stage of permanently abiding in the nature of true mind. These meditation methods are pertinent to Trúc Lâm’s view that all phenomena that emerge via speculative thoughts are unreal and illusory, and that only the true mind is real. The first section of this paper explores historical connections between Vietnamese and Chinese forms of Buddhism, shedding light on why Trúc Lâm embraces Thiền Tông, which is transmitted from Chinese Chan zong, and how Thích Thanh Từ builds connections between Thiền Tông and the Vietnamese national identity. The second section focuses on Thích Thanh Từ’s own life story, on how he practiced meditation and suddenly experienced “unlearned wisdom” (trí vô sư/vô sư trí, C. wushi zhi無師智,an alternative term for true mind and buddha nature as a result of his practice) and how he succeeded in spreading the “revived” Trúc Lâm. With the first two sections as a background, in the third section, this paper explores Thích Thanh Từ’s views and practices and critically analyzes those views and practices in the conclusion. Overall, I argue that Thích Thanh Từ’s instructions on meditation are closely intertwined with his view of reality, which in turn is based on the mainstream Chan zong ideas.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Relationship between Buddhist Worldviews and Contemplative Practices)
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Open AccessArticle
Community Cultural Wealth among a South Australian Muslim Population: A Reflective Evaluation of Strengthening Family Health and Wellbeing
by
Helen McLaren, Renee Taylor, Emi Patmisari, Carla McLaren, Michelle Jones and Mohammad Hamiduzzaman
Religions 2024, 15(3), 351; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030351 - 14 Mar 2024
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Muslims living in non-Muslim countries may experience marginality, which has associations with exclusion, poor socio-emotional health, higher rates of family violence, and poor quality of life. Faith-based strategies have the potential to bridge the gaps and improve the outcomes for these communities. We
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Muslims living in non-Muslim countries may experience marginality, which has associations with exclusion, poor socio-emotional health, higher rates of family violence, and poor quality of life. Faith-based strategies have the potential to bridge the gaps and improve the outcomes for these communities. We undertook a reflective evaluation of the individual and group interventions of a Muslim start-up NGO, Community Development, Education and Social Support Inc. (CDESSA) (Adelaide, SA, Australia). Qualitative data were generated via dialogue, storytelling, and making connections with meaning based on observations of the lived experiences of the narrators. The analysis involved revisiting, reordering, refining, and redefining the dialogue, and conscious framing around a theoretical model of community cultural wealth. The results showed the growth of family and community engagement in CDESSA’s support and intervention activities, commencing with a small religious following in 2021 and growing to more than 300 Muslims regularly joining together for faith, health, welfare, and social wellbeing activities. Reflections on the dimensions of aspirational, navigational, social, familial, ethnoreligious, and resilient forms of community cultural wealth showed that the range of individual and group interventions, involving religious leaders, contributed to improving health and wellbeing, thereby growing community capital as a mechanism for strengthening families in this community.
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Open AccessArticle
Visits to the Palace of the Sea God in Ancient and Medieval Japan
by
Matthieu Felt
Religions 2024, 15(3), 350; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030350 - 13 Mar 2024
Abstract
Visits to the palace of the sea god are a recurring theme in premodern Japanese narratives, and comparing these stories across time periods reveals shifting perceptions of the supernatural world. The earliest sources for narratives of travel to the palace of the sea
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Visits to the palace of the sea god are a recurring theme in premodern Japanese narratives, and comparing these stories across time periods reveals shifting perceptions of the supernatural world. The earliest sources for narratives of travel to the palace of the sea god in Japan date from the eighth century, most notably in the stories of Luck of the Mountain and Urashima Tarō. In these stories, the descriptions of the sea god’s palace, the relationship of the sea god to the natural world, and even the location of the palace were tied to eighth-century understandings of kingship, weather, and geography. Later adaptations of these stories incorporate features of Buddhist geography, Chinese architecture, Buddhist narrative motifs, and even an alternative vision of supernatural time. These alterations occurred because the eighth-century narratives required adaptation to fit a new political, social, and religious reality. This comparison demonstrates that our vision of the supernatural world is inextricably tied to our understanding of the natural. When our fundamental grasp of the nature of reality changes, our imagination of the supernatural transforms in turn.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Supernatural in East Asia)
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Collective Despair and a Time for Emergence: Proposing a Contemplacostal Spirituality
by
Aizaiah G. Yong
Religions 2024, 15(3), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030349 - 13 Mar 2024
Abstract
In many ways, the cascading effects of the age of the Anthropocene have accelerated life as we know it towards a certain kind of reckoning, which has only been exacerbated amidst the global inequities present within the COVID-19 pandemic. Trauma studies, as an
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In many ways, the cascading effects of the age of the Anthropocene have accelerated life as we know it towards a certain kind of reckoning, which has only been exacerbated amidst the global inequities present within the COVID-19 pandemic. Trauma studies, as an interdisciplinary field, has recently been linked to the experience of despair at both personal and collective levels. Yet, trauma scholars are increasingly amenable to diverse forms of spirituality and its perspectives as core to the work of addressing suffering in the world, especially for marginalized communities as ways to access the wisdom of bodies, thoughts, emotions, and cultural/spiritual longings. Moving further in this direction, a practical theology which bridges trauma studies with Christian spirituality (and the emphases on spiritually rooted social action and the centrality of the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete: helper, counsellor, advocate, and comforter) is timely. This paper imagines how contemporary trauma care approaches might be supported by emergent forms of Christian spirituality enabling greater posttraumatic growth and resiliency and subsequently how this can renew the practice and study of Christian spirituality.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spirituality, Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth)
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Killjoy? Augustine on Pageantry
by
Peter Iver Kaufman
Religions 2024, 15(3), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030348 - 13 Mar 2024
Abstract
Augustine’s position on civic spectacles should be evaluated in connection with his fears about a resurgence of paganism in late Roman North Africa. Notwithstanding contemporary claims that those fears were cover for early fifth-century prelatical efforts to manage commercial and political culture, evidence
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Augustine’s position on civic spectacles should be evaluated in connection with his fears about a resurgence of paganism in late Roman North Africa. Notwithstanding contemporary claims that those fears were cover for early fifth-century prelatical efforts to manage commercial and political culture, evidence suggests that paganism in North Africa survived and was seductive.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religions in Ritual, Spectacle, and Drama in the Medieval & Early Modern World)
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Preaching the Ecclesiological Gospel Amidst a Syndemic Context
by
Seyeom Kim
Religions 2024, 15(3), 347; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030347 - 13 Mar 2024
Abstract
As the proliferation of new variations of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) continues to increase, it is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over. Indeed, we are living in a world of interrelating and overlapping pandemics—a syndemic. A syndemic accelerates the polarization of
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As the proliferation of new variations of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) continues to increase, it is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over. Indeed, we are living in a world of interrelating and overlapping pandemics—a syndemic. A syndemic accelerates the polarization of access to health care, financial support, and education opportunities in marginalized communities, and the polarization breeds social injustice, violence, and ignorance. What, then, is the Gospel the Church proclaims for those who have experienced the pandemic and are now facing a syndemic? As part of a liturgical response, this paper proposes preaching as a praxis of the ecclesiological Gospel. The ecclesiological Gospel is a term I suggest to highlight the contextual, sacramental, and communal aspects of the Gospel. Highlighting God’s holistic work for salvation represented in baptism and the eucharist, the ecclesiological Gospel yearns to form a church that baptizes people in diversity, that severs evil interconnections, and that welcomes people to the table of hospitality that forms a new covenantal relationship. This paper examines the concept of a syndemic and its significance for preaching in marginalized communities. It contrasts a holistic Gospel perspective with a narrow view, proposes preaching as praxis of the ecclesiological Gospel, and illustrates its application within a particular context in responding to syndemic conditions. I hope this work offers a chance to reorient the meaning of the Gospel and the identity of the Church for people living in fear, grief, and hopelessness, while encouraging them with the unwavering hope revealed in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Worship and Faith Formation)
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